


Of Rainy Days and Umbrellas

by Aeneid



Series: The Villain and the Princess [1]
Category: Gintama
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Edo Gintama, F/M, Manga Spoilers, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Rain, Space Pirates, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 09:37:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4216728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeneid/pseuds/Aeneid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a rainy day in Edo, Tokugawa Soyo confronts her demons, mentally-unstable space pirate included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Rainy Days and Umbrellas

**Author's Note:**

> tangerinespectre sent me this prompt:
> 
> "I escaped from my bodyguards by wearing an inconspicuous outfit, but I didn't expect it to rain (heavy downpour) so suddenly and we just happen to meet."
> 
> Special thanks to her for proof-reading the fic. It’s also thanks to her that I managed to not snap during the writing of this fic because Edo!Kamui is so difficult to write. (；・∀・)
> 
> All my thanks as well to anneemay for her input on the characterization! Couldn’t have done it without your help. o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)/
> 
> Spoilers for the Shogun Assassination Arc and the early chapters of the Farewell, Shinsengumi Arc.
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

 

… She really should have brought an umbrella with her today.

As Edo entered the early summer season, along with it came the rainy season that Tokugawa Soyo used to enjoy, as it brought relief to her whenever the heat became too unbearable. However, it was only now that she  _was not_  enjoying the summer rains, especially since she had no umbrella to shield herself from it. While the tree she was standing under was somewhat helpful in not letting the full force of the rain soak her to the bone, she knew she had to seek shelter… and fast.

Later today, she was to meet up with someone, and the last thing she wanted was to look like a drowned rat.

Testing out her footwear, which happened to be a pair of black heels, a far more durable and stable footwear than a pair of  _geta_ , she tapped the tip of the shoes against the muddy ground, and looked at the wide open space before her. She and Kagura had agreed to meet up in the park at three in the afternoon, but with her best friend running at least a quarter past their supposed scheduled meeting, she was getting worried. Cursing the fact that she had no mobile phone with her, as she had left it back in her home in her haste to get to the park on time (she only brought her wallet and had stored it in her drawstring bag), she considered heading to the Yorozuya instead to wait for her best friend. At least there, she would get shelter, she would be warm… and she would also be safe from any assassination attempts while she was out.

While her attire right now was appropriate for summer, it was  _not_ appropriate during the rainy summer, as the temperature would still get chilly when it got cloudy. Add to that, her outfit, which exposed her arms and her upper back, was unable to protect her from the gradually-changing temperature.

Rubbing her arms to warm herself up for a bit, she made a break for it by running blindly to the direction of where her best friend lived and—

_Shit!_

Immediately, she stopped in her tracks.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the signature black uniforms of Edo’s police force, who also doubled as her personal guards. Some of them were shouting her name, while there were those who ran, stopped to check out every possible hiding spot, and then ran around again to look for her.

Where oh why were there members of the Shinsengumi in the park?!

How the hell did they manage to move out so quickly?!

There was a reason for her unique get-up today; the outfit she was wearing right now, she had chosen it carefully to make sure that she would be able to hide herself from them. She had tossed away her heavy  _kimono_  in favor of an ankle-length, double thigh-high slit black halter  _qipao_  dress given to her by her best friend last year on her nineteenth birthday. The dress looked rather expensive, for it was made out of silk, and had peach blossom designs embroidered in red all over it. She chose to wear it for today to disguise herself, as no one among the guards would ever figure out that their timid and shy princess would ever sneak out of her home wearing a China dress, especially since there were still threats to her life. That, and she would never consider wearing a  _qipao_ , as she definitely  _did not_  own one.

Nearly six years on since  _that incident_ , there were still people out there who wanted to kill her.

Unfortunately for her, she knew at least one person who was still waiting for his chance to strike straight into her heart, leaving her for dead once and for all.

Grimly, she shook her head; now was not the time for such thoughts.

Not on the day she and her best friend were supposed to have fun and go out like best friends do.

The rain had suddenly turned for the worst, as the light rain turned into a heavy downpour in mere seconds. The sudden rainstorm had made it difficult for her to navigate, as the rain drops got in the way of her vision. This had also been the cause of her sudden accident, which involved her and some kind of object; in effect, she found herself sprawled on the ground several seconds later upon contact with said object. The deluge had made it nearly impossible for her to see whatever it was that was in front that she found herself falling forward onto something, even if it felt as if she rammed against a solid wall. While it did not hurt as much as she anticipated, she feared for whoever it was that she bumped into, as the object was rather warm. Having an idea that it was a person that she knocked over, she pushed herself up.

“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t see—”

Upon gazing at the face of the person whom she had toppled over, her blood immediately turned cold as soon as her mind instantly recognize the person she had bumped into.

Years ago, back when a group of  _samurai_  was chasing after her in an attempt to kill her, she, with all the strength she had back then, had been running for her life in order for her to  _survive_. Soyo had been told by her brother time and again that  _she_  had to do  _everything_  humanly possible in order to live and see another day. Though she may have looked like she had been too distracted with keeping herself safe at that time, it did not escape her notice that  _someone_  was eyeing her all throughout her running. Admittedly, during that ordeal, she had braced herself for any surprise attack on his part, having an inkling that  _he_ , or anyone who sported an umbrella similar to the one her best friend had as well, was dangerous, and that the immediate reaction was to run for the opposite direction.

At that time as well, _he nearly killed her,_ if it wasn’t for Okita Sougo’s quick reflexes that saved a bullet aimed straight at her.

Right now however…

Soyo waited for the mad pounding of her heart at the sight of  _him_ ,  _the person_  who would not hesitate to kill her again if given the chance.

Not surprisingly, her heart barely reacted.

She might as well get this over and done with before her inevitable doom.

“… Are you alright?”

 

* * *

 

He never was the type to discriminate when it came to killing.

Men and women were of equal standing when it came to the battlefield, though children were another thing altogether, as he had a personal philosophy of not killing them. He did not want to hamper the killing potential that each of them had in them, so he always turned a blind eye on them and let them run for their lives. Besides, the thought of facing a child who had the potential of becoming a killer in the future was something he looked forward to every single day of his life, which was why he never killed them, even if his hand was itching to end their life.

Until today, he never really noticed the things about women until his face got smothered by a pair of breasts when someone, or rather, a  _woman_ , had ran blindly towards him during this rainy day in Edo, and had actually managed to knock him off his feet. He fell backwards, his umbrella getting knocked out of his hand in the process, and just before he could use a hand to help himself up immediately, the woman’s chest headed straight for his face, and the back of his head hit the pavement.

… Now that he thought about it, whoever this female was on top of him, she had really soft breasts. Not too big, not too small either, and he wasn’t dying from suffocation and—

Just when he thought he was getting used to the feeling of someone’s breasts on his face, the woman backed away and asked, “… Are you alright?”

He nearly sneered in response.

And to think he called her a woman when it was no more than a mere brat who tried desperately to look like one.

The brat before him who, years ago, had nearly became his prey if it wasn’t for her rather zealous guardian who refused to get her killed. Funny, but he thought she and her older brother had been done for after all that has happened. Even if he had been around the galaxy more frequently than he had been on Earth (Yoshiwara was still his territory, after all [1]), the news that the Shogun had been assassinated had been so big that it had even reached his ears, even while they were in the far reaches of space.

Too bad, she had been spared from death… but on the other hand, it gave him the opportunity to finally kill her once and for all.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the  _former_  Shogun’s sister.”

Despite his insult, she barely reacted to it. Strange, but he remembered her being more animated than this stone-faced brat before him.

“… It’s you.”

_That’s it? ‘It’s you’?_

A part of him surprisingly got irritated at her lack of reaction.

“My apologies for knocking you over. I was in a hurry.” Quickly, she got up by pushing herself up away from him. Almost immediately, he did the same, though for him, it was more of a ‘jump back up to your feet’ kind of thing, and, upon getting back on his feet, he grabbed his umbrella to shield himself from the rain. Her stance looked like she was about to run away, and just before she could bolt away, he grabbed her arm.

“Let go of me.” If she was desperately trying to convince him to actually do just that, she had another thing coming.

“You’re the one who bumped into me. Aren’t  _you_  supposed to offer more than just an apology?” it annoyed him that he was trying to goad a response from her when he found her giving him a blank stare. His enemies would always look at him with fear in their eyes, while some would pee themselves on the spot upon seeing him kill them off with a smile… but this brat simply looked as if she was bored out of her wits whenever she glanced at him.

If he had to be honest, that angered him.

When she replied with, “…Did you want me to grovel at your feet?” it made him more confused than ever.

What was she babbling about?

He pulled her close to him, under the umbrella, ignoring her yelp as he gripped her arm in an attempt to let her know that he would not hesitate to use force if she tried to escape from him. To his utter regret, the brat had not resisted his efforts.

“Get me to a good restaurant that you’re sure that  _I_  will enjoy.”

 

* * *

 

  
If it was only possible for her to laugh heartily at the rather abrupt turn of events (who would’ve thought that  _he_  wanted to eat?), she would’ve done so already.

She hadn’t laughed genuinely for  _years_.

Instead, she gave the best smile she could muster, which she knew did not reach her eyes.

“… I know just the place.” She told him.

To her surprise, he grinned rather cheekily, and it had taken her aback, as minutes before, he was looking at her as if he wanted to eliminate her on the spot. To her surprise, his eyes, which were the same shade as her best friend’s, were sparkling with enthusiasm. “Great! Lead the way, won’t you?”

She shrugged in response, and without thinking, headed blindly out of the protection of the umbrella, only to realize that the torrential rain wasn’t letting up when it literally hit her. Embarrassed, she walked back to where he stood and asked, “… Can I stay inside the umbrella for the meantime? I don’t have one… and there’s no convenience store in sight.”

Not surprisingly, he gave her a smile that she would categorize as ‘sadistic’. “How about no?”

“If you say so then.”

Turning away from him and ignoring the rain water that splashed on her face, she began to march on. Her hair, which had been styled in one bun on the back of her head with a stick  _kanzashi_  as her hair decor, was slowly becoming undone, thanks to her clumsiness, and the rain was not helping  _at all_.

“Geez, where’s your sense of humor?” from behind her, her best friend’s older brother followed suit and shaded her with the umbrella in his hand. “You’re just as bad as Abuto.”

Exasperated, Tokugawa Soyo took out her coin purse from the draw string pouch tied around her right wrist and handed him a coin. “Here’s ten yen. Go find someone who’s willing to talk to an idiot just like you.” [2] While she had been able to tolerate him earlier, the fact that he was  _teasing her_  right now had unnerved her.

This guy tried to kill her years ago, yet here he was, lecturing her that  _she_  had no sense of humor?

She would’ve still had one if it wasn’t for  _him_ , who had a hand in her brother’s assassination.

To her surprise, he gave her a puzzled look instead, his face etched with confusion. “… What are you giving me?”

“… A ten yen coin…?” was this guy for real? Has he  _never_  seen money before?

As much as Soyo wanted to ask him that, she  _couldn’t_  bring herself to be chummy with him, no matter how friendly he was. Besides, she was still on her guard, and no matter how much he sounded and looked nice, at the back of her mind, she reminded herself that he was still a murderer.

“For what?” the old her would’ve probably found the reaction amusing and would have laughed right at his face immediately, but despite the humorous situation she was currently in, she found it hard to laugh.

Though, she had to note, him being unable to understand her joke had managed to lighten up the mood between them, even just for a while.

Shaking her head in response, she sighed, placed the ten yen coin back in her purse and muttered under her breath, “And you have the nerve to tell  _me_  that I lack a sense of humor.”

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.” She replied immediately before sighing.

She might as well get this over and done with.

As he started walking, she kept up with his pace in order for her not to get drenched further. It was bad enough that the silk was clinging on to her skin, and it was making her uncomfortable. Discreetly, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand, feeling her nose dripping from the cold weather.

She really needed to stay somewhere warm.

Despite the heightened security in the park, it took only a few minutes before they managed to get out of there. Inwardly, she thanked both her luck and her quick thinking, especially since her outfit had somehow managed to help her get away. Sighing in relief, she was just about ready to concentrate in going to the restaurant she had in mind when he stopped in his walking and spoke up.

“Why are you wearing a dress of the Yato Clan?”

As she did not want to get drenched, she stopped as well. “Is there a problem with me wearing a gift that my best friend gave me?”

“The style is highly unusual, given that the women of the clan prefer wearing the same clothing style as the men.” He informed her. “No one in the clan wears that kind of outfit anymore.”

Discreetly, she looked at him. Far from the one he wore years back, her best friend’s brother was now wearing a blue-grey mandarin collared shirt with frog buttons fastened in the front and paired it off with dark-colored pants and black boots. She figured that he was all covered up just in case the sun was out during his visit. Kagura had told her that she and her clansmen were sensitive against the sun, but in her case, she had developed a bit of resistance against it after being on Earth for so long, though it did not mean she could start frolicking about during the height of summer.

“I see.” She replied automatically, clearly not in the mood to continue with this line of conversation.

She also had half a mind to tell him that her best friend could kick ass in her  _qipao_ , but decided against it. All she had to do was to bring him to her restaurant of choice, eat there, and then wait for her doom.

There was no way he was going to pass up the opportunity of killing her, and she knew that.

He decided to speak up again. “The outfit you’re wearing is only worn when the female member of the clan hopes to look for a mate… except  _no one_  in their right mind is doing that right now because  _we_  have more important things to do other than settle down and have brats.” The look on his face told her that he was mocking her. “Is that why you’re wearing it? To attract some potential mate because you’ve failed several times?”

She rolled her eyes, disgusted at the fact that he was trying to make it look as if she wasn’t attractive enough. “That’s none of your business.” She told him hotly.

After all, nobles did not have any use for a disgraced sister of the assassinated Shogun.

“Fair enough.” He shot back. “So where’s the restaurant?”

 _We would’ve been there already if you hadn’t stopped to ask me about my personal life,_ was what she wanted to tell him, but knew that he probably had something more snarky to reply back, and she was too tired to retaliate. Irked that she was forced to do his bidding and that she had to share an umbrella with him, she grabbed his arm, the one that he used to hold the umbrella, and began leading him to her favorite restaurant, which happened to serve…  _unique_  dishes.

Soyo did not even know if he would enjoy it, but since he asked her to recommend a restaurant that was ‘good’, and that ‘he would enjoy’, that meant it was up to her to decide.

 _Hope you like_ horumonyaki _, you jerk._

She sure as hell thought those dishes were the best thing since bacon, and if he didn’t… well, tough luck.

She was the one who called the shots now, all thanks to him.

 

* * *

 

  
They ended up with a rather classy-looking  _yakiniku_  place.

Then again, for someone like him who grew up living in a miserable-looking town that passed itself off as ‘civilized’, anything in comparison to where he used to live was ‘classy’. The country of the samurai, in his opinion, was the perfect example of how a civilization should looked like; then again, since when did the clansmen considered themselves part of the civilized society?

He figured that the brat he was with was well-known in the restaurant, for they were led to a rather secluded spot in the main area, specifically a spot near the windows, which, he noticed, was slightly away from where the other customers were seated. As soon as he laid down his umbrella by the window and had sat down, she, still standing, was talking to one of the food servers, and he heard her ordering food for them.

Kamui couldn’t help but notice a third time today that she was wearing a rather bold version of the dress the women of the clan wore, as it exposed her upper back; it surprised him, as the dress was something that the Yato women did not wear, with their bodies were riddled with battle scars. It was obvious that she had never undergone anything physically taxing aside from running, as her arms and back were free of any deformities. Hell, if he had to be very thorough, even her thighs and legs (in his defense, she was wearing a dress that have double slits on either side of her legs) were free from blemishes. At this, he sneered, knowing that despite the years that have passed, the brat was still the same old spoiled princess.

… Not that it was his fault for checking her out. The opportunity presented itself; how the hell was he going to ignore it when it was right in front of him… or rather, his line of sight?

The first time he did notice was when she blindly ran out of the umbrella, only to ask him if it was possible to stay under the umbrella with him, as she had gotten drenched. While he got momentarily distracted with seeing her smooth back, he shot back at her question with a sarcastic reply. Right after she ran away again, that was the second time he caught a glimpse of her back  _yet again_ , and to his surprise, he felt an unfamiliar stirring within… and it alarmed him.

When he went after her and told her that she was acting like Abuto (the old man seriously couldn’t take a joke), she then proceeded to take something out of the pocket of her dress. Inadvertently, her reaching out for her coin purse had flashed a bit of leg (for some reason, she just  _had_  to do a pose while she fished out for the coin), and once again, it distracted him to the point that he actually asked her what the hell it was that she was handing over to him (he knew his currency; he wasn’t a space pirate for  _nothing_ ). Not surprisingly, she looked at him as if he was an idiot, and he played along, wanting to distract himself from thoughts that he did not need right now.

All he wanted was food; why the hell was he getting subjected to this kind of torture anyway?

Awkward silence permeated the air as both of them, two individuals who have nothing in common yet were brought together by circumstances, or in this case, him forcing the circumstance, were now stuck with one another as they had to wait for their meals to be brought to their table.

To his relief, one of the staff members brought a ceramic pot of tea to the table, though it seemed like the whole ceramic was for her consumption, as they only brought out only one tea cup. Surprisingly, another member of the staff brought out a medium-sized towel and handed it to her. After both of them bowed at her and left, she took the hair ornament that she was using out of her damp hair, placed it on the table, and began toweling her hair dry by leaning forward and rubbing the towel vigorously on her hair.

Once again, he felt his eyes wander towards her smooth upper back, and he forced himself to stare at the boring ceramic teapot instead… but failed to do so. Frustrated, he pinched the bridge of his nose and brushed his own hair, which was also damp, with his fingers. Thankfully, he hadn’t don a braid today, only tying it up in a low ponytail by his nape, as he had an inkling that it would probably get messed up… and he didn’t want redoing the braid when there was no mirror in sight.

Surprisingly, they had also brought him his own ceramic teapot, a tea cup, and a warm hand towel. After they had left, he then used the cloth to clean his hands, as he was glad for the warmth. Surprisingly, it had gotten chilly; then again, he read that buildings in Edo had poor insulation, which was the reason for the sudden change in the temperature. [3]

He thought he was finally distracted… until he heard her sigh rather…  _throatily_ upon gulping down a cup of warm tea.

While he had managed to keep his face neutral, his body was definitely not cooperating.

The most effective way, he figured, was to ‘accidentally’ pour tea on his hand so that he would get his mind off of things…  _specifically_  from the brat’s reaction over drinking the warm tea.

That was  _not_  supposed to happen, and yet his body was betraying him by informing him that the sound was something that he did not hear everyday, and that it came from a  _female_.

She was a  _brat_ , and not a  _female_ , if he had to be very specific about it.

Absent-mindedly, he was about to grab the handle of the teapot when he touched the base instead, and he recoiled from the pain.

“… Are you okay?” she spoke up, breaking his train of thought.

“Fine.” He muttered right away, feeling the heat from the ceramic teapot. He was too focused on the hand towel he had laid on the side that he accidentally touched the wrong part of the porcelain. He got what he wished for, but he had not anticipated the pain. Discreetly, he rubbed his three right fingers to soothe it, trying to get rid of the pain.

Wounds would heal, but burns were another thing… especially since he was a Yato, and his clan did not take too kindly to burns. The sun was their enemy, and anything else that would scald one’s skin, which included boiling water, or water temperatures that were warm enough to turn them as red as a lobster.

Needless to say, he was not fond of the hot springs that the people of this land enjoyed so much.

“… You don’t seem okay.” From where she was at, the brat stood up and walked over to where he was. Just before he could open his mouth to tell her to leave him alone, she bent down to sit on her calves, grabbed his burnt hand and placed it in-between her surprisingly cold hands. “Did you get burned? The tea they serve here is unusually hot, and it’s actually a house specialty…”

He could only stare at her in disbelief as she approached him without fear in her eyes, even casually grabbed his hand and tried to help him ease the pain from the burn. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “… Your hands are cold.”

“It happens.” She shrugged in response. “It’ll get warm in a while.”

But it didn’t. Several minutes passed, and while he felt the soreness gradually fade, her hands stayed cold. Frowning, he slid his hand out of her palms and did the same thing she did earlier, though it was now both of her hands in-between his. While he was anticipating the flush on her cheeks from the skin contact, it did not happen; instead, she merely looked up at him, confused.

“… What are you doing?”

“Returning the favor.”

“I don’t need it.” She hastily removed her hands away from him and stood up so fast that she actually fell on him. To his embarrassment, her breasts had made a direct hit on his face, as he was looking up at her when she decided to stand up immediately as soon as she pulled her hands away from his. While he tried not to look too flustered, she herself didn’t make a fuss over it as she simply regained her balance by pushing herself back up with the help of the back of chair. Dusting the imaginary dust in her dress, she turned her back on him and made her way to her seat, just when they were bringing in the dishes.

He was thankful that the food was arriving, but only because it was a good distraction for him. The fact that breasts got shoved at his face twice in a day was making him, or rather, his body, very uncomfortable, and he did not want to deal with it  _right now_.

… Though if there was one thing that he thought was worth noting, it would be her skin color.

Was it just the lighting in the restaurant, or was her skin rather pale? He had no comparison other than their first meeting years ago but… she looked unwell unlike before.

He mentally shoved the thought aside; why the hell did he care about some brat anyway?

“… You’re not eating?” she asked him, interrupting his thoughts.

Wordlessly, he picked up the utensils, grabbed the dishes, and began to eat to distract him both from thoughts that he never knew he could come up with, as well as her rather brittle smile earlier.

This brat was… she was definitely up to something, and he did not like it.

Not one bit.

 

* * *

 

Soyo was unusually tired.

It took three hours for the whole dinner course to be over, as he demanded that she order more food. By the time he was finished stuffing his face full, the bill had ranked up to thirty thousand yen, and she took it all in stride by paying for it in cash. Not that she was unprepared, as her best friend was a big eater herself, but for once, she had managed to eat everything that was on the table… or rather, the portions she had ordered for herself. Her appetite had not been the same ever since the incident years ago, as it had been difficult for her to eat, and if she did eat, she wasn’t able to keep the food down and threw it all up again.

Thanks to the efforts of the Shinsengumi who had also joined her on her ‘diet’ (they said that it would be easier for her if she had ‘comrades’ who would join in on her efforts), she was slowly able to eat food that she used to enjoy, particularly  _horumonyaki_. It took three years, but it was already possible for her to eat again without throwing up… just like what happened today. Then again, it was because she told herself to enjoy the food,  _no matter what_.

The likelihood of today being her last day on Earth had crossed her mind several times today, and the food she just ate would most probably be her last as well. No doubt, right after this, he would take her to some secluded spot and kill her right then and there without mercy. As expected, she felt no fear at the thought of her dying  _tonight_ , as she had conditioned herself ever since her brother passed away that  _she_  was going to die someday… most likely under the hands of a murderer like  _him_.

If there was one thing she wished for, it was that her death would be swift and painless.

As they exited the restaurant, she was about to let herself get drenched under the heavy rains that showed no sign of stopping until he held her back by grabbing her arm. To her surprise, he opened his umbrella, though before he lifted it over his head, he asked an unusual question.

“… Where to next?”

Frankly, Soyo had no idea on where her destination would be tonight, as she had resigned herself to dying before the night ended. Just before her body moved to do a shrug, she blurted out, “… Kabuki-cho.”

If he showed any surprise that she wanted to go to the entertainment district of Edo, he did not comment upon it. Lifting the umbrella over his head, he roughly pulled her beside him before he started walking. “Lead the way.”

She found herself making her way to where Yorozuya Gin-chan was located, which was a fifteen minute walk from the restaurant… and with  _that guy_  by her side, who still held the umbrella over their heads. It puzzled her that he was making no move to do a swift annihilation of her, and while she mentally prepared herself to speak up and ask him pointblank whether he was going to kill her tonight or not, he spoke up once again.

“Dinner was nice. Good restaurant you chose.” His voice had returned to the singsong tone that she found annoying, as it reminded her of the way he spoke from way back, which was when he told Okita-san to ‘get rid of that’.

 _“Come on, hurry up and get rid of_ that. That  _will just get in the way of your bloodlust, right?” [4]_

 _She_ , a person, had been reduced to a mere object, just because some violent airhead thought that  _she_  was someone who could not hold her own.

He was underestimating her all because she possessed no fighting skills whatsoever to fend off her pursuers.

She wanted to feel rage, but the emotional toll that she had been experiencing ever since her brother died had made her unable to feel  _anything_. It was as if her emotions had had enough of her sadness that it simply stopped functioning.

“… Was that a compliment?” she couldn’t help but ask, her tone void of emotions.

Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed. “Haven’t been to a restaurant here, and the cooks onboard the ship try to make dishes from this place. It’s loads better here though.” If she could look up, she would have seen the happy look on his face. “What kind of food was that?”

“ _Horumonyaki._ ”

She had never been so roughly manhandled in her life until he suddenly grabbed her arm again, only this time, he slammed her against the concrete wall of a building that she vaguely noted as part of Kabuki-cho, which also seemed to be a building that was several feet away from where the Yorozuya office was. While she did not mind her back getting wet, she winced in pain upon contact to the wall, as well as the part where his hand was when he grabbed her.

“… You made me eat  _animal innards_?” despite the no change in his tone, she knew that she had angered him, as his azure eyes had suddenly turned murderous in an instant and were now glowering at her. Unsurprisingly, Soyo was still calm in spite of the aura he was exuding.

She shocked herself further when she managed a shrug, knowing that it was probably weird for someone who was being threatened by a murderer to maintain a poker-faced expression. “You told me, and I quote, ‘get me to a good restaurant that you’re sure that  _I_  will enjoy’. I did what you asked. How was  _I_  to know you get all squeamish over offal? You didn’t say your preferences and left it all up to me.”

“That  _does not_  change the fact that  _you_  probably did that to piss me off—”

What the hell was this guy saying?

_Piss him off?_

How could she even know what he liked when they barely knew one another?!

“As I’ve said,  _it’s not my fault_. Just because the food you enjoyed earlier happen to be something that you get squeamish over doesn’t give you the right to complain when you have  _never_  told me that  _horumon_  was something that you don’t eat.  _I_  treated you out, and  _you_  get all bitchy about this?” for the first time since her brother’s death, she was getting worked up over some guy who had the nerve to complain to her  _after she had paid for dinner_. “ _Get over yourself, you asshole_.”

If it was even possible, his eyes narrowed, while a rather sadistic smile appeared on his face. “ _You_  have the nerve to tell  _me_  to ‘get over it’?”

“Shouldn’t you?” she asked hotly. “You’re not a child; you’re a full-grown man. What ‘full-grown man’ throws a tantrum after getting free food? If you  _hated it_ , you pretend that you enjoyed it, tell the person who fed you a ‘thank you’, and move on. Meanwhile, you’re here, yelling and biting the hand of the one who fed you. Aren’t  _you_  being a total asshole over this?”

She barely flinched when he punched the wall by the side of her head, just near her left ear.

“I may kill people for the hell of it… but I draw the line in eating  _animal innards_.” [5] The smile on his face should’ve sent chills down her spine, but it did nothing to quicken her heartbeat.

If he was doing that to try and intimidate her, he was sorely mistaken.

The last thing she feared was death itself, as she had prepared herself since the age of fourteen for the possibility of death at the hands of assassins.

To her shame, she was too cowardly to take her own life, despite the fact that she desperately wanted to join her brother in the after-life. It frustrated her that she was still living on this Earth, while her brother was already six-feet under the ground.

He  _did not_  deserve to die so young.

She rolled her eyes. “What a drama queen. I suppose that I should actually thank you for sparing my life from years back?”

“You never  _were_  the target. It was the Shogun’s head that we were after,  _not you_.” the mockery of his words did not escape her hearing. “Did you think your head had a bounty as well?  _Of course not._  You were simply the brat who happened to be a blood relative of his. You got in my way, and I would’ve killed you off if it wasn’t for that policeman.”

She knew the truth years ago, that they have had been planning her brother’s assassination at that time, but for her to hear the confirmation straight from one of those who had been indirectly responsible for his death… just when she thought she was done crying over her beloved brother’s death, she felt tears burn her eyes. Discreetly, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, indirectly hitting his face in the process.

As much as she had not meant to hit him, she knew that he would take it the wrong way, regardless of whether or not she intended it.

“... Okita-san saved me, and I am thankful to him for both helping me pull through my brother’s death and for protecting me the whole time.” she heard herself say before laughing bitterly. “While I resent him for being unable to protect my brother, he had at least made up for it by making sure that I would be able to eat offal again.”

“Is that so?” it was hard to miss the sarcasm in his tone, though it flew over her head as she began to get enraptured by the thought of her  _dying_  any moment, all because she had enraged him by talking back. “Maybe it should have been  _him_  whom you should have taken to the restaurant.”

When she did not respond to his remark, he punched the other side of the wall, just near her right ear, to get her attention, making her jolt in surprise, dropping her pouch in the process.

It took a while for her to notice that he had dropped the umbrella he was holding just so he would get her attention, and was now leaning on his left fist as he bent down to intimidate her. With his right arm back to his side, she knew that he would not hesitate to strike her if she did so much as to move an inch. While the wall she was leaning on was partially covered by the roof of the three-storey building over their heads, it did not mean they were spared from the heavy rains.

“I am talking  _to you_.  _Won’t you do your best and humor me for a bit, princess?_ ”

“… What do you want  _me_  to do? Apologize?” she was so appalled at how this man was acting that it was beginning to irritate her. “For what? Because I humored you a little and fed you? You’re so ungrateful. It’s no wonder you drive people away. You’re an asshole, and I fucking hate your guts.”

Just when she thought she had managed to shut off the part of her that made her feel, Soyo found herself railing against the man who happened to be her best friend’s older brother. Funny, but it took a mentally-unstable murderer to remind her that she wasn’t emotionally dead.

“If you hadn’t dragged me off to god-knows-where and demanded that I feed you, I would’ve had dinner with someone whose company I actually enjoy.” If looks could kill, that guy would’ve dropped dead by now. “I’ve risked  _everything_  to be able to have a day out, and  _you’ve ruined it_ , all because you’re so selfish and want it to be  _all about you_. After all that I’ve done, you turn into an ungrateful little shit. You have  _no right_  to be so demanding. Kagura-chan was right; you really are an annoying idiot!” [6]

The language that she had used… never had she imagined that in her anger, it would simply slip out of her mouth naturally. Then again, the Tokugawa heiress knew that it would happen eventually. Never had she been so agitated over something… or in this case,  _someone_. He had the nerve to blame her for his own mistake, and the insult was too much for her to take it lying down.

Add to that, he was acting like a spoiled child.

“If you don’t mind, please get out of my way.” The steel in her voice was unmistakable. “I owe someone dinner, and it’s definitely  _not you_.”

 

* * *

 

He had always managed a mask of calm and smiles whenever someone tried to piss him off, and for many years, it had worked wonders. He knew that he should reserve his anger for something that was worth getting his bloodlust and anger worked up over, like a battlefield that he would, without fail, litter with corpses after he had his fun.

Right now, the way he was feeling was akin to how he acted whenever he was in the battlefield, and it both disgusted and amazed him that a mere brat had managed to get on his nerves with  _mere words._ Everyone around him took care not to piss him off, including Shinsuke, who chose his words carefully whenever the older man spoke to him, as the samurai valued his neck greatly. Same goes with everyone in the Seventh Division, including Abuto, who usually dealt with him whenever he got too erratic.

But this brat…

He could handle being told that she hated his guts; she had every right to be, given that years ago, he thought of her as an entertaining plaything as he watched her dodge every hired mercenary to kill her along with her brother.

But for her to tell him that  _he_  deserved no apology from her, and that  _he was demanding_ …

She was seriously asking to be killed.

… Add to that, an irrational part of him had seethed at the thought of her dining with  _someone_ whose company she had probably deemed more worthy than his presence. Right now, he would like nothing more than to rip open a new hole in whoever it was that she had been bragging about. If it turned out to be that policeman, he was more than happy to settle the long-delayed fight between them, despite his ‘never mix business with pleasure’ rule; there would be no greater pleasure than being able to inflict some injury on that guy, while the brat watched helplessly on the side.

In one sudden movement, he lifted his right knee, placed it between her legs, and ignored her gasps of protest as he lifted her up easily so they could see eye to eye. When she attempted to slap him, he grabbed her right wrist. Undeterred, she tried to follow it up with her left, and he grabbed it as well. Roughly, he pinned her wrists over her head with his left hand and nearly smirked upon seeing the terror reflected in her eyes. Though her expression did not give her away, it was clear to him that she was dreading every moment.

“Insulting me was not the best thing to do,  _princess_.” He spat the last word angrily.

“… I simply told you the truth. How was  _that_  an insult?”

While he admired her for her unyielding resolve, she was also getting on his nerves.

“Don’t piss me off.” He warned her.

He was so close to striking her that his hand was actually itching to make contact with her skin and make her regret every word that she said about him. Kamui knew that women should be treated with respect, but everyone was equal in the battlefield. Add to that, the brat was annoying him so much that he wanted to make her pay.

When he saw her shoulders tremble, he waited for her to apologize… instead, he had been taken aback when she made a request that was so far from what he had in mind.

“If you’re going to kill me, make it swift and painless.” It puzzled him that she went from spitfire to meek and humble in seconds. If she was doing this to make him change his mind, she had another thing coming… though it amazed him that her eyes went back to its usual deadpan look, as if she had already resigned herself to her fate of dying by his hands. “… I don’t want to linger in pain and moan while I bleed, so  _please_. Just… just…”

As if she could not bring herself to finish her words, she closed her eyes in anticipation of her death, and he found it hard to miss the teardrops that ran down her cheeks.

Kamui had never been the rational type. He was more of an ‘action speaks louder that words’ type of guy, and tended to go down the ‘hurt first, ask questions later’ route, something that usually got him in trouble. Abuto had always told him to use his brain first and rationalize the situation, but rather that follow what the older man advised him, he ignored Abuto and continued acting upon his emotions and feelings.

… But this time around, he found himself unable to use his hands to open a new hole in her torso, his usual method of annihilating his enemies in one move.

Was it because her wrists, which had been trying to resist his hold, had suddenly gone limp, as if trying to convey to him that she had already given up on her situation? Or was it because she was no longer struggling against him, unlike several minutes ago, when she was squirming to let at least one of her feet touch the ground, despite getting lifted inches off the ground to ensure that she wouldn’t escape?

He didn’t know, nor would he like to know the answer to that.

He was the type never to use logic in any situation he faced.

Despite his personal rule of going by his instincts instead of using logic, he surprised even himself when he, to his own shock, went by his gut feeling, and found himself kissing her against the wall on a rainy day in the land of the samurai.

He wanted to ask himself what the fuck it was that he was doing kissing her, when he had let the opportunity to kill her literally slip away from his fingers. The brat had resigned to her fate, and was even asking him to kill her, yet here he was, unable to even use a hand to kill her… and was  now using the very hand he was supposed to use on her to slip it through the slit of her dress to caress her thigh. He was surprised that it took several seconds for her to realize that he was kissing her.

Not surprisingly, she struggled against his hold upon realizing that he had not pushed through with his initial plan of killing her.

He wasn’t sure anymore if it was because of his anger that he was ruthlessly trying to subdue her, or because he did not appreciate the thought of her breaking away from his kiss; nonetheless, he deepened the kiss between them, teasing her lips with his tongue that the moment she had hitched her breath and slightly opened her mouth, he took the chance to gently suck her tongue. Not surprisingly, she still continued struggling against him, doing whatever she can to get away from his hold while he was slowly getting intoxicated with  _her_.

She gasped upon feeling that he was slowly rubbing his knee against the mound between her legs, unsure and scared at what he was planning.

Was this a preliminary of sorts before killing her?

Seducing her to let her guard down before he would deliver the final blow?

Two could play at that game.

First, she would make sure to give him that false sense of hope that she had become submissive to him… and when he would least expect it, she would make a run for it to the Yorozuya office and hide, or even run as far as her legs would carry her. At least she would be able to redeem herself by putting up a fight.

When he pulled away from her to catch his breath, she spoke in a rather shaky voice, “C-can’t you let my wrists go…? It’s… kind of uncomfortable…” funny, but it seemed that she did not have to pretend to make herself sound so breathless from the kiss when it came out of her naturally. Seeing the hesitation on his face, she then said, “It’s not like I can do much… especially since you’ve effectively made it… difficult to let me escape.” To prove her point, she wiggled a bit under his knee.

Bad move.

He had been so surprised at her gesture that he had dropped his knee, but not before letting go of her wrists as well, as he did not want her to dangling mid-air with her wrists against the wall. Instead, he managed to steady her by grabbing the back of her thighs; in the process, they found themselves in a rather awkward position: he, in-between her legs, with his hands on the back of her thighs, while her hands were resting on his shoulders. With her back was still against the wall, and partially supported her, his brute strength had been enough to hold her steady and let them look at one another eye to eye, their faces inches apart.

He was the first to break the silence. “I—”

Not wanting to shatter whatever “magic” was that was shared between them, she silenced him by wrapping her arms around his neck and closed the gap between them by kissing him. Mimicking what he had did to her earlier, she had clumsily licked his lips with her tongue, ignoring the fact that their noses collided when she did that. Not to let that amateur mistake deter her, she proceeded to wrap her legs around his waist, knowing very well that he could support her, though this time around, his arms were now under her buttocks. As she kissed him with as much passionate as she could muster, she kept reminding herself that this was all a game, and that she was simply doing this to lower his guard so she could escape.

… Or was that still her objective?

It horrified her that her heart was beating so fast right now, as if it had come back to life upon the first kiss they shared, and she was deadly afraid that he could hear her having this kind of reaction towards him.  To her credit, what she was experiencing was  _nothing_  compared to his reaction, as she felt her lower body slide down against him, only to gasp in surprise against his lips upon feeling something rather hard between her legs. The fact that he was aroused surprised her, but what was more shocking was that  _he_ , a  _murderer_ , was reacting this way towards  _her_ ,  _just because they were kissing one another under the rainy sky_.

Will wonders never cease?

It was her who pulled back this time around, and upon looking at him face to face, an inch’s space between them, it was obvious that his azure eyes were gleaming with lust, and seemed as if he wanted  _more than just_  a kiss.

… Was it even possible here?

She surmised that it would be, as there was no one in sight to catch them in the act. All that was needed to be done was for his pants to be lowered, while he could simply tear her panties and  _take her_  right here, right now, when both of them were drunk with lust.

If she was going to experience this before her impending doom, so be it.

He wasted no time unhooking the back of her halter top so he would be able to kiss her exposed neck, all the while cupping her breast underneath her dress. She, in turn, licked his ear, making him shudder from her gesture, though she stopped herself from smirking at the thought of being able to make this Amanto shiver with just her mouth.

… Since when did this become…  _enjoyable_?

She tried not to panic at the thought of her deviating from her objective of running far, far away from him.

When had this gone so wrong…?

Soyo snapped back from reality upon feeling his hand on the waistband of her underwear. At her panicked look, he calmly told her, “… Either I ravage you here, or I bring you to a more private place. Either way, it will both end with us  _satisfied_ with the outcome.” She did not miss the innuendo in his tone, and tried not to blush too hard over the thought of something supposedly so intimate becoming a means to sate their lust.

Then again, what did she have to lose?

“And,” he whispered in her ear. “as you have requested, I’ll make this  _swift_  and  _painless_  for you.”

Did this mean he was going to kill her in the middle of the act, just so she would be distracted from the pain…?

As long as he had fulfilled his end of the bargain, the Tokugawa heiress had no complaints.

Moving his hand from her hip to where her abdomen was, she gasped when he slipped his hand under her panties and, upon placing a gap between them, began stroking her in the place where she was burning to be touched ever since she felt his erection between her thighs. It did not surprise her when she had been unable to keep her legs wrapped around his waist and, instead, let her shaky legs touch the ground as he continued touching her, running a finger over her slit and making her moan. With her arms still around his neck, she leaned back against the wall, spreading her legs further to give him access, knowing that he was somewhat easing her pain.

“Enough foreplay.” He growled against her ear as he took her in his arms. “Put your legs around me again.”

She did what he told her, and while he divested her off her underwear midway down her thighs, they both heard a loud crash… which revealed itself in the form of a cat who, in its haste, had managed to topple over a trash bin, and had darted immediately to the other street as not to fully get drenched by the heavy rain.

The interruption had done wonders to her. With both of them now ‘awake’ from their lust-addled state, he hastily pulled her underwear back to where it belonged, but not before kissing her for the last time on the lips as he did so. As he slowly lowered her to the ground, she, in turn, was slowly turning red in embarrassment upon realizing what they had just done; despite the fact that no one was out on the streets this rainy evening, the fact that they had come close to having sex… she shook her head both in disbelief and in astonishment at how she had been so willing to share an rather intimate moment with someone who had a hand on her brother’s assassination.

What was she thinking…?

She turned around, her back facing him, to try and fix the mess that he had done. Aside from her panties, everything was nearly in its place, though she knew that putting the halter back on was going to be a problem, as it required another person to fasten it properly. As she struggled to fasten the two straps on the back of her neck, Kamui noticed this, grabbed the two thick strips of cloth and hooked it together… but not before biting the right side of her neck and sucking it gently, making her yelp from both the contact and the unexpected help. Upon pulling back and seeing that mark he left was slowly turning red, he placed the strap over the kiss mark to hide it.

In the midst of her trying to check if everything was in place, he discreetly pulled the hair ornament from the barely visible hair bun located on the back of her neck. He wasn’t surprised that the bun had come loose, given that they had been rather…  _eager_.

When she was done fixing herself, she slowly turned to him, and this prompted him to hide the hair stick under the sleeve of his coat, right under the bandages wrapped around his right forearm.

To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around him in an instant, and he found himself doing the same, though his rested on her waist. As she stood on her toes and leaned forward closer to him, he did the same…

… until he felt her grab his ponytail. Frustrated that she had been able to outsmart him, he tried to move his head to avoid the blade that he spotted from the corner of his eye, not wanting her to have the satisfaction of being able to scratch him.

He nearly smirked when he found that her aim had been off and had missed his neck, but he would soon find out that it was her who would have the last laugh. He did manage to dodge her attack when he jumped away from her… but at the cost of his hair.

Holding up the bundle of hair that had been on his nape moments ago, she held it up to let him see her handy work. “Guess you’re not as good as you think you are when it comes to dodging.”

Her being able to cut off his ponytail annoyed him, but the fact that she had used both her body and deceit to distract him and let his guard down…  _that_  had angered him.

He had to admit, it was clever of her to be able to conceal a weapon without him realizing it until the last second.

“You’ve yet to keep your end of the bargain.” She pointedly told him. “I’m taking this in return.”

“… My hair? Really now.” He scowled. “What kind of sick fantasy do  _you_  have that you had to cut it off?”

“It’s an Edo custom, and it’s something that your brain will never be able to understand.” She shot him back. “I’m holding this over you… just so you’d remember your unfulfilled promise of finishing me off for good.”

She still wanted to die?

Then again, it was hard to figure out women… even if their compatibility said otherwise. [7]

“Fine. Within the next six months, I will find you and make you sorry for even attempting to extract a promise from me.” The smile he had put on sent shivers down her spine, not because she found it dazzling… but because it looked rather predatory.

It was as if he found himself a new toy to play with… and it happened to be her.

“Good. I’m glad we’re in…  _agreement_.” It was difficult to find a word to describe what kind of deal they made with one another, especially since she went through the effort of cutting his hair to force him into making that kind of promise. While most people who think that the cutting of one’s hair symbolized a new self, she thought of it as both a threat and a promise; a threat that if he failed to deliver the promise, she would drive the knife through his neck.

… Yet, there was another meaning to the whole hair cutting business, something that she would not point out to him, as he might get the wrong idea and use it against her.

She forced yet another smile on her face. “I will be…  _waiting_  for that day.”

After retrieving her pouch bag from the ground, she bolted immediately to wherever it was she was heading to, and this time around, Kamui did not go after her.

He had enough of chasing brats for the day.

With that, he has been thinking of going back to space until he sensed a kick coming his way. Immediately, he sidestepped and narrowly avoided a hit to his face, knowing that a move like that had been rather easy to dodge… especially if one’s sister had been the one who tried to deal a blow.

“Surprising to see you here.” He said by way of greeting.

As expected, Kagura, with her usual umbrella over her head, had cut to the chase and yelled, “ _You_  stay away from my best friend!”

Should he be actually surprised that the girl happened to be the weakling’s best friend? He guessed not; no one would actually give an Earthling a dress from the clan unless the person who gave it happened to be a Yato as well. Nearly all of the Yato women were part of the Lightning Spear, save for the outcasts and his own sibling.

“If only that was possible.” He shrugged, flashing a smile at her, which he knew irritated her beyond belief. “ _She_  and I still have things to settle between us… don’t even think of interfering, Kagura.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” she yelled angrily. “Stay away from her, you hear me?!”

“As I’ve said,  _don’t interfere_.” He glared at her, repeating his threat. “ _She_ ’s my prey.”

“China, don’t bother; I doubt he’ll actually listen to you.”

The third person who joined the conversation… he’d recognize the voice anywhere. Not to mention it brought out memories that had hurt his pride somewhat; after all, it was unheard of for a mere Earthling to be able to stand at par with a Yato like who had been training his whole life to be the strongest warrior in the galaxy.

When the police officer, an umbrella in his hand, made his way to where he and his sibling was, he couldn’t help but feel the anger raging within him… though as much as he wanted to convince himself that what he was feeling was anger because of the unfinished duel between them, and that his pride couldn’t accept that someone nearly bested him…

The fact that this guy should have been the one whom the brat was going to spend dinner with…

It angered him.  _A lot._

And he didn’t understand why.

“Stay out of this, sadist. This is between me and this annoying idiot!” he heard his sister say, and he refrained from rolling his eyes in exasperation at how  _she_  was the one who sounded annoying.

“If he’ll actually listen to you.” Came the bored response of the other male.

The police man was half-right; he  _was_  listening, though he filtered every stupid word that Kagura had said, which meant nearly everything that came out of her mouth. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to rip open the other man’s throat for no apparent reason. While he did kill for the heck of it, it alarmed him that his thoughts kept drifting to the fact that the brat had dressed that way  _because she was going to dine out with that police officer…_ and it bothered him that he was bothered over it.

 _Why_?

What the hell was happening to him?

And how did this all happen?

He was probably more deprived than he thought, for he was getting agitated over the smallest reasons that sounded petty, even to him.

Kamui knew he had to leave now, or he might just find himself walking around the streets of Edo in search of that brat  _simply because he wanted to_.

“As much as I’d want to waste time with you two, I’d rather not.” At this, he picked up his umbrella from the ground and finally shielded himself from the rain. “Remember, Kagura… interfere, and I won’t hesitate to incapacitate you  _permanently_.”

 

* * *

 

She had been in the Yorozuya for half an hour already when, to her surprise, in came her best friend and Okita-san. The others may have not noticed it, but she wondered why both of them were rather red in the face when it wasn’t even warm at all. Aside from that, both of them looked out of breath, most probably because they ran all the way back… though it puzzled her that both of them were not looking at one another and had even taken steps to be as far apart from each other as possible, with Kagura walking over to the couch while her bodyguard was by the door leading to the entryway.

“Princess… there you are.” Surprisingly, Okita-san did not look angry nor displeased. Her bodyguard had been protecting her ever since the disastrous event from years past, and was not even wavering in the slightest when it came to his duty.

If she could actually put it in words, her guardian looked… relieved.

“Okita-san.” She stood up and bowed her head. “You must be really angry at me—”

“I would never be angry at you, princess.” He interrupted her. “Just that you please inform us of your whereabouts next time instead of sending everyone running around Edo to look for you. We would not take it against you if you had wanted to spend some private time with a friend… it’s a better option than the worse scenario we have always been dreading since Shige Shige-sama had passed on.”

She had an inkling on what he meant, but just to be safe… “W-what scenario?”

“You lying in the pool of your own blood, your corpse disposed of in some back alley in Edo.”

Him stating it in a matter-of-fact way sent shivers down her spine. “… I’m so sorry.”

“The important thing is that you’re safe, princess.” He reiterated. “If you’re ready to leave, I shall accompany you back to the estate… though I think you might want to get changed into dry clothes.” He said, holding up a small bag.

“That would be nice. Thank you.” She stood up, took the bag, and was led by Shinpachi to the Yorozuya proprietor’s room to get dressed. Years of having no maid by her side had taught Soyo how to wear a  _yukata_ ; usually, she had been unable to do the  _obi_  properly, but practice and hard-work had paid off. In no time at all, she had managed to put on a light pink  _yukata_ , a bright yellow  _obi_ , and had tucked away the still-wet dress inside the bag.

It was a nice feeling to wear something dry again, as the silk dress she had on earlier had clung to her like a second skin. Other than that, the familiar feeling of wearing a  _yukata_  made her feel at ease; the dress that was given to her, however, slightly made her feel more bold and more confident. Was it because of what happened earlier…?

She really did not know; she never really thought about it too much, despite the fact that Sakata Gintoki and Shimura Shinpachi left her alone to her as they went about their usual tasks.

… But she guessed that she had to face reality now and ponder on the possible consequences of what she had just done.  

As she did not want to overstay her welcome, she immediately opened the door from the room and made her way back to the common area. There, she thanked them by bowing at all three members of the Yorozuya in gratitude.

If it wasn’t for them…

Well, she guessed that she wouldn’t even be able to set foot to this place today, if  _he_  hadn’t spared her.

“Thank you so much for having me.” To Kagura, she said, “Rain check for our dinner plans?”

“Of course.” Was it her imagination, or did her best friend’s smile look forced?

“Good night.” And with that, she and her bodyguard left the Yorozuya office. When both of them reached the ground floor, she waited for him to open the umbrella before going under it.

As they walked back to the estate where she had been hiding for the past few years, she thought back on the incident earlier where she, in her opinion, behaved like a total idiot, especially since she nearly allowed herself to be…  _ravished_  against some wall of an abandoned building. It scared her that she nearly allowed the man who had nearly killed her years to touch her so intimately. As much as she wanted to blame both desperation and her out-of-control hormones after just one kiss, she  _couldn’t._

_She also wanted it._

She wanted it to happen… which was why she allowed  _him_  to do those…  _things_  to her.

“Princess?”

She had been so lost in her thoughts that her bodyguard had to call her several times to get her attention.

“… My apologies, I have not been honest awhile ago, as I wanted to spare you the embarrassment in front of the others, but…” he sighed uncomfortably. “I… or rather, China and I… we know you spent the whole evening with that Yato.”

She felt as if someone had splashed her whole body with a bucket of cold water. “I… w-what…? Y-you two were—”

“… I had no choice.” He muttered. “ _We_  wanted to keep you safe… who knows what’s going on inside that guy’s mind? He could’ve killed you earlier.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she had actually wanted to die tonight, and by that man’s hand to boot. “… H-how long have you two been trailing me?”

“From dinner… until…” from the corner of her eyes, she saw her bodyguard flush guilty, and she knew instantly that he had seen what had happened when  _he_  pushed her against the wall.

“… I can assure you, I will not take it against you, although…” he sighed. “… Did it really have to be that guy?”

She herself didn’t know the answer to his question either. As she had not enough time to think thoroughly about what just happened despite no one bothering her while she recuperated in the Yorozuya office the whole time, her mind was still unable to process the whole scenario that played out. That, and she had been unable to believe that she had responded to that man like he was her…  _lover_.

She grimaced at the thought of him being her lover.

_No way._

“… I don’t know the answer to that myself.” She muttered after some time. “I… I probably just got caught in the heat of the moment.”

It was half-true; as soon as she gets home, she would have to thoroughly think about what happened, scrutinize every little thing… and then decide for herself what to make of it.

Her mind drifted back to what Okita had told her… she remembered him saying that he and Kagura-chan were together earlier. Which meant that her best friend…

“O-Okita-san… I just realized that…” she swallowed. “D-did Kagura-chan also—”

“… She probably did.” He stated. “Actually, she and I met that guy after you ran off.”

_Oh no._

“A-and…?”

Okita proceeded to tell her that  _he_  had told his own sister to not mingle in his affairs, as he would ‘incapacitate her permanently’ if she dared, which left Soyo feeling horrible. Now that her best friend knew that she had gotten herself involved with her good-for-nothing brother, she inadvertently dragged along her best friend and her bodyguard in her own problem.

_What have I gotten myself into…?_

“I-if that’s the case, then please leave me to handle that guy alone.”

Not surprisingly, Okita Sougo looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. “… I know you’re serious about this… not that I am underestimating you, princess, but are you really sure you can handle him?”

She unconsciously touched the pouch bag, which contained the hair that she had cut off from that man earlier, as well as the knife she had used earlier, on her right wrist. “… Yes. I can handle him.”  _As long as I do exactly what I did earlier, I’ll be fine… I hope._

“If you say so, princess.” There was still doubt in his tone, but it was better than nothing. “But while I do respect your decision, you’ll have to contend that with… the others.” He had not said it out loud, but the implication that her best friend would greatly object to her request had been there. Kagura had told her everything there was to know about her unstable brother, and Soyo took all of the warnings to heart…

…  _Until tonight_ , when she threw caution out of the window and nearly engaged in a sexual act with the older brother of her best friend, if it wasn’t for that interruption in the form of a garbage can getting toppled down by a stray cat.

“Then I guess I’ll be the one to tell Kagura-chan the next time she and I meet up.”

“Of course.” He affirmed. “Again, please inform us when and where you’ll be meeting her; a wild goose chase around Edo is the last thing we need.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She said sincerely, though she knew that while meeting her best friend was something that the Shinsengumi would allow, they would most probably lock her up in the estate where they would be able to keep her safe. That, of course, did nothing to put her mind at ease; after all, if  _he_  decided to storm the estate, he would most probably kill all of them until no one was left to protect her.

Okita-san included.

Soyo would not want to be responsible for anyone else’s death… and the only way to make sure that everyone was safe was to confront him.  _Alone,_ if possible, and… well, just let him do what he had to and let it be over and done with.

She would simply one of the many who died at the hands of murderers… or assassins, if ever he would decide to do a surprise attack on her within the time he had proposed. When that happens, she would be prepared.

Tokugawa Soyo would die with dignity, just like her late brother, Tokugawa Shige Shige, the former Shogun of Edo.

“Lastly…” he said.

“Yes?”

“… It may have escaped everyone’s notice but…” he gave out a loud sigh that Soyo knew that he reserved whenever he was frustrated… in which case, he did that whenever he had a hard time dealing with her best friend. “Well… that guy left a ‘souvenir’ on the… right side of your neck. Either that, or one giant mosquito landed on your neck while you weren’t looking.”

A hand flew to the side of her neck, remembering that he  _did_  bit her there earlier. Still, she was not one to admit to her bodyguard, no matter how close they were, that she allowed that man to suck her neck. “… Remember that giant mosquito-like Amanto? That was the one responsible for this mark on my neck.” [8]

“If you say so.”

Both knew the truth, but were uncomfortable with discussing it.

All that mattered right now was for her to go home as soon as possible so that both of them would be at ease… or at least, in her case, she would desperately try to be at ease and not let that guy haunt her, even in her dreams.

She had had enough of him for one day.

 

* * *

 

Abuto knew something was definitely up with the Lightning Spear’s squad leader.

It had been three days since his sudden departure for Earth (“I wanna eat, and this shithole doesn’t serve me the food that I want!” had been his last words before leaving in a smaller spacecraft so that he could go to Edo undetected), and aside from the usual snarky responses when he got back, he seemed to be distracted. At first, when Abuto asked him what happened to his hair (that was the first thing one noticed, since he had known that the squad leader sported long hair), he simply replied with, “I also had a haircut there.”

Now, he wasn’t so sure if the haircut had been a planned thing… especially since Kamui had been touching the back of his nape and pulling the end where his braid used to be when he thought no one was looking.

And then, there was another thing that distracted him, as he kept staring at whatever it was on his hand, only to hide it whenever he sensed that someone was approaching.

He had an inkling it was a phase that most living things with raging hormones went through… though like many others, Abuto had actually thought that the squad leader was immune to such, since he never really gave any indication that he was interested in any kind of relationship with  _anyone_.

However, it seemed like everything changed after that trip to Earth, and he was determined to find out what had actually happened.

It was only after several days after the sudden trip to Earth that he found out what it was that amazed his leader to no end. It had been an accidental find, as he was going about the ship to do patrol duties (everyone had to do it, including the squad leader himself). At that time, Kamui happened to be sitting on the couch located in the common area of the ship, his hands holding the thing that had been keeping him preoccupied for the past few days. The older man was further amused when he found out what the younger man had been preoccupied with, as it happened to be  _a hair stick._

 _The girly type with a rabbit design and flowers on it_.

No doubt, the leader was enamored with someone.

Question was…  _who?_

“Nice hair stick. Maybe you should put it on your hair and see how you’d look like wearing it.”

A kick flew his way, which the older man barely managed to dodge. As the vermillion-haired younger man landed on his feet from the failed attempt to kick his second-in-command, he tucked away the hair ornament in the breast pocket of the shirt he wore.

“… Abuto, don’t be an ass.” Came the angry tone from his leader despite the smile on his face.

“So, who is it? Was she also the one who cut off your hair?”

As soon as he saw the younger Yato flush, he knew he was correct in his initial assumption; who would’ve thought that the hormones would hit him at a later age? And it seemed to be a rather strong hormonal response at that, as all signs pointed out that he was beyond infatuated.

It seemed like, dare he say it,  _love_.

“That’s none of your business.”

Again, he promptly ignored the angry tone. “So she cut off your hair to extract some kind of promise from you? That’s bold.” He whistled. While he had been traveling around the galaxy for quite some time, that particular Edo custom would always be memorable for him.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” from hostile, the younger man’s demeanor and tone relaxed to curiosity.

“You didn’t know? Yoshiwara has that custom; cut off your hair, or part of it anyway, give a lock to your lover, and it’s a promise for life… or until the next patron arrives and pays a higher amount to the courtesan you just bedded.” [9] Abuto informed him. “I’m guessing she cut it off because she’s so in love with you and wants you to be hers until she finds the next guy?”

“… Maybe.” It seemed like he was still in denial over what had happened on Earth, so he didn’t press for more details…  _yet_.

“So she cut off your hair, and you took her hair ornament in turn.” The veteran Yato found all of it amusing. “I’m guessing that you’re…  _in love_ with her?”

“‘Love’.” At this, the squad leader of their group snorted. “That’s stupidest thing that’s ever come out of your mouth so far, Abuto.”

“It won’t be stupid once we get the order that we abduct her and bring her to you, or something to that effect.” He gave a mock bow at the current Night King of Yoshiwara. “Don’t worry, we won’t judge you for it. Just say the word, and we’ll do it without question… though I won’t be able to quell down the gossip that might follow.”

He was right; the thought of their rather airheaded leader  _being in love_ , and with a Yoshiwara courtesan at that, was mind-boggling. Nearly everyone in the squad thought their leader never had it in him to have feelings of desire, save for the desire to kill his enemies in sight.

But lust for  _someone_ , and a  _female_  at that?

It was a rather scary thought, one that they would rather not dwell on…  _for now_. Until they got used to the idea, that is.

“As if I’d let you touch what’s mine.” He flashed a rather sadistic smile at his older comrade. “Touch her, and I’ll cut off all your limbs, Abuto.”

“Point taken.” The old man nearly felt a shiver run down his spine upon seeing the smile on his leader’s face, knowing that the younger male would definitely follow through with his threat if he did so much as to even touch the fabric of said woman’s clothing. “Well, whatever. As long as you fulfill your duties, we have no complains with that. Although…”

Kamui gave him a blank look, as if telling him to continue.

“Does this mean you’ll be gone a day or two every month to visit her?” asked the shaggy-haired Yato, smirking knowingly at him.

Abuto was out cold in a second.

 

* * *

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Notes:
> 
> [1] Yoshiwara was still his territory, after all - after the events in Yoshiwara, in the manga, Kamui declared himself the Second Night King after his master, Housen. Technically, he still owns the place until now.
> 
> [2] “Here’s ten yen. Go find someone who’s willing to talk to an idiot just like you.” - rather popular phrase in my country; for this fanfic, 10 yen is the minimum amount one needs to pay in order to use a public payphone.
> 
> [3] ... he read that buildings in Edo had poor insulation, which was the reason for the sudden change in the temperature - so damn true. It gets so cold in the winter and gets really hot in the summer. The reason for this is that the materials used to build the houses in Japan need to be lightweight in order to withstand earthquakes.
> 
> [4] “Come on, hurry up and get rid of that. That will just get in the way of your bloodlust, right?” - Kamui’s exact words when he finally meets Okita and Soyo face to face. Despite the kanji used to refer to Soyo happened to be ‘princess’, he still called her ‘that’.
> 
> [5] “I may kill people for the hell of it… but I draw the line in eating animal innards.” - based on my headcanon that despite Kamui’s lust for killing people, he can’t stand eating horumon/offal.
> 
> [6] "Kagura-chan was right; you really are an annoying idiot!” - Kagura referred to Kamui as ‘annoying idiot’ during the start of the Farewell, Shinsengumi Arc (the arc directly after the Shogun Assassination Arc) when she thanked Okita for protecting both her and Soyo. Note that she has not used the term ‘brother’ to refer to Kamui.
> 
> [7] Then again, it was hard to figure out women… even if their compatibility said otherwise. - Kamui is a Gemini, and Soyo is a Cancer. One look at those two zodiac signs will tell you that their compatibility is all messed up... yet some astrologists think that it’s a compatible and plausible pairing if they manage to work out their differences.
> 
> [8] “… Remember that giant mosquito-like Amanto? That was the one responsible for this mark on my neck.” - Episode 20 of Gintama.
> 
> [9] "... cut off your hair, or part of it anyway, give a lock to your lover, and it’s a promise for life…” - That’s the Yoshiwara version. There are a lot of interpretations to the whole ‘cutting of hair’ scenario, as stated in the fic, but there’s one that I have not mentioned, which was taken from the Tale of Genji. In that novel, cutting of the hair symbolizes the bond between two people. In this case, Soyo feels as if she’s lording over Kamui because of her being able to possess his hair. Somewhat connected to the Yoshiwara version, though in the Tale of Genji, it can be a platonic gesture.
> 
> \--------------------
> 
> Language of flowers/Hanakotoba:
> 
> -peach blossom means “I am your captive.“
> 
> \--------------------
> 
> Thank you so much for reading until the very end. Till next time!


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